Meteor and stargazing enthusiasts consider December a big month, since a lot of spectacular events have been witnessed lately. There's the super moon, then the Geminid meteor shower. Now, it's time to get ready for yet another event.
The Ursids Produce Hundreds Of Bursts, Only A Few Of Them Are Visible To The Naked Eye
If you are one of those who did not get a glimpse of the recent Geminid meteor shower, get ready on December 22 for another chance. This year's Ursid shower will peak tonight, Daily Mail reported. It usually takes place between the 17th and the 23rd of each year, but this time, it's going to be on Thursday.
The Ursids, which are associated with the comet, 8P/Tuttle, also sometimes known as Mechain-Tuttle's Comet, are a meteor shower named for its radiant point which is located near the star Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) in the constellation Ursa Minor. Studies of this meteor shower began in 1945, and it is known to produce short bursts of over 100 meteors per hour. But typically it is much sparser than that.
Scotland Will Be In Prime Position To See The Meteor Shower, But Americans Can Still Witness It
Notably, the Ursids almost always coincide with the winter solstice. Compared to the Geminid meteor shower, the Ursids meteor shower is considerably lesser, which can only peak up to about a dozen or so per every hour. The Geminid meteor shower was very prolific, with up to 120 meteors per hour, but it was largely invisible due to the full moon on the night that it peaked.
According to Mirror, those in Scotland will be in prime position to see the shooting stars. It can be visible around midnight, and people in the U.S. will see the peak in pre-dawn hours today.
